


On My Own

by MelodeeKS99



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 17:53:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13862844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodeeKS99/pseuds/MelodeeKS99
Summary: Rey and Finn visit Jakku and she begins to remember the lonely childhood she once forced herself to forget and the young man she was connected to who she had told herself was only a figment of her imagination.





	On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a prompt requesting a story about Ben and Rey being connected by the Force since they were young, but I did not finish in time to include in the exchange.

The sand curled around Finn and Rey as they flew over the desert of Jakku on her old speeder.  

“I can’t believe it was still there.  You left it in a den of thieves and they didn’t steal anything?!” Finn yelled over the sound of the engine and the wind blowing, filling their ears with noise.

“That’s because I lied and told them my home was rigged with explosives,” she called over her shoulder to him, piloting the speeder with Finn in the back, wrapped around her waist.

“You could have actually just rigged it with explosives,” he suggested.

“Yeah, but anything I found that was useful, I had to trade for food.  Especially as I got older and Unkar became much harder on me.”

Finn considered this sadly.  He had been taken from his family and forced into the Stormtrooper program, but he was always taken care of. He had friends who would protect him, shelter, a bed to sleep in, and three square meals a day.  Rey had to make her own way, completely.  Imagining her as a child, having to try and fight off smugglers, scavenge for machine parts to trade for food, and sleeping alone in the dark… it pained his heart.

What he didn’t know - what she kept to herself - was that she wasn’t always alone.

Rey remembered the day she was left behind.  She hated Jakku and always had.  She begged her parents not to go again and this time they dragged her into the hot sand, under a scorching sun, handed her over to the most disgusting creature she'd ever seen, and left. Unkar Plutt held her, sweat dripping from every part of him onto her skin.  He was rough, ugly, and smelled like he had never bathed.  Knowing this was her life now, Rey had nothing to do, but settle into a deep pit of  denial.  

She told herself this was temporary, she would leave this place eventually, and her parents would come back for her.  Once their ship was out of sight, Plutt dragged her through the desert and Rey fought him every inch of the way, not knowing what he planned to do. 

Finally Rey knew they had arrived because he clutched a handful of her tunic in his thick claw, lifted her off the ground, and tossed her backward into a massive metal foot.  She landed hard on her back in the sand, hitting her head on the solid object behind her.

“Stay!” he commanded in a gravelly voice. 

“I don't want to!” Rey screamed back at him, wiping her face of the tears which had been falling since her parents turned their backs on her and walked away, ignoring her cries for them to come back for her.

Plutt hobbled forward, leaned close, and Rey tried to scoot back, but whatever lay in the sand behind her was wide and unmoving.  

His hot breath moistened her small face as he tapped the metal object and said, “You will sleep in here.  It will keep you safe.  Here!” He dropped something in her lap and and added, “Go east each morning, that will help you, and I'll give you work so you can earn your place.”

“I'm hungry!” Rey said angrily, pouting and crossing her skinny arms.

Plutt reached into a satchel and removed a small portion and a canteen already filled with water. He dropped them beside her and said, “You're on your own now.  That's the only handout you'll receive.  Tomorrow, if you want to eat, you will come to Niima Outpost and work for it.”

Rey turned away stubbornly and he returned to his shop, so when she turned back he was gone. When the sun fell toward the horizon the air turned cold, and she stood to find her way inside before it grew too dark.  She was shocked to find the large mechanical creature in the sand behind her and she created a room for herself in the troop compartment.  

For days she cried alone in her new home, feeding off the small portion Unkar had given, taking tiny bites to delay the next time she would have to see him.  And there was one other problem: she didn't know how to work the device he'd given her.

To Rey, it looked like a large locket and she wondered if there was a map inside, but when she stood on the highest point of the AT-AT, and looked in every direction, it all looked the same and she couldn't fathom how a map would help.

Was this a trick?  Did Unkar intend to let her die out here alone, waiting for someone to help her?

She examined the bronze case and the minuscule opening around the rim and knew it must open, but she couldn't manage. 

She pulled with her fingers and when that didn't work she found a set of old tools and tried to pry it, but nothing would work - not even chucking it angrily against the old metal Empire vehicle.

“Stupid...broken… piece of garbage,” her tiny voice shrieked, holding it against her palm and slamming it into steel base of her home.

Frustration overcame and she nodded her head sadly, crying.

“Are you okay?” 

Rey's head shot up and she turned to see a young man sitting a foot away.

“What are you doing here? Unkar said this is my home!” she admonished, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I don't think I'm actually in your home,” he replied.  This was a peculiar situation.  He believed the Force was connecting them, but the how and why would need to wait until he figured out how to explain it to this little girl, without scaring her.  “My name is Ben,” he said in his kindest voice. 

“I’m Rey,” she said, pouting and kicking the object she’d dropped when he spoke.  It rolled loudly across the floor and stopped near his feet.  She looked out the corner of her eye, anxious he may think she kicked it at him and would react angrily.  

“It’s nice to meet you Rey.”  Ben picked up the device and leaned back against the wall, scooting closer discreetly.  

“Why are you here?” She asked, frowning and tilting her head to look up at him.

“I’m not sure.  Have you ever seen someone like this before? Someone who wasn’t where you are?”

“No.  Where are you?”

“The Hosnian System.  Where are you?”

“Jakku,” she huffed bitterly, one side of her nose twitching with disgust.

“Do you live there with your parents?”

“They left me,” she said, looking away from him as tears filled her eyes, her tiny mouth turning down. “I’m on my own, now.”

“Are you lost?” he frowned curiously.  “Maybe I can help them find you.”

“No,” she shook her head and wiped her nose with her shirt.  “They didn’t lose me.  They sold me to Unkar.”  Though she was brief before, biting back the words she was too bitter to speak, it was clear he was going to keep asking questions, and with the spilling of tears, the words soon followed.  “They didn’t want me anymore, so they left me and now Unkar says I have to work for him if I want to eat, but I don’t know how to find him.  He gave that to me and told me to go east to find him, but I don’t know how to work it.  I don’t even know what it is.”

“It’s a compass,” he said, holding it out to her.  He wanted to ask more questions about her parents and how they could leave her all alone, but asking the child these questions wouldn’t help her.  

“What’s that?” she asked, holding her hand out.  He dropped it in her outstretched palm.

“It’s what was used to guide travelers before we had navigational systems.”

“But… it doesn’t do anything.”

Ben smiled, reached over, and pointed to a small button at the top.  A chain was linked below and it looked like a simple loop welded on for the chain.  “Press down on that dot,” he said.

Rey looked sideways where his finger pointed and lifted her hand, pushing the button hard with one finger.  The front of the compass flung open, attached by a narrow hinge at the bottom.  “Whoa,” she whispered.  Ben didn’t hear, but saw her mouth form the “o” and smiled. 

“Now you’re ready,” he said, trying to sound upbeat.  “What is it you’re supposed to do to earn food?”

Rey shrugged, small shoulders lifting to her ears, a comically bewildered expression on her face and Ben smiled again.  Her stomach growled and she blushed, covering it with her hands and he tried to pretend he didn’t hear, and to hide the sadness in his eyes.  To think, he’d been angry with his parents for leaving him with a friend while they worked and this poor girl was abandoned, traded into slavery, with no clue how she would survive.  

“When was the last time you ate?” Ben asked.

Rey shrugged again, looking down.  “Unkar gave me some food and water, but expected me to find him the next day.  I tried to eat it slowly so it would last but…” She looked up across the small space and Ben followed her eyes, but could only see a bed raised high before them, “it’s been five days since I ate a full meal.”

Ben sighed and stood.  He walked away, but she couldn’t see his surroundings and didn’t know where he was going.  That’s when she realized she didn’t want him to leave.  It was nice to have someone to talk to and he was much kinder than anyone she’d encountered before.

When Ben turned back, he had a plate of food and her eyes widened hopefully.  He pulled a wet towel from beneath the plate and instructed her to wash her hands and face before handing over the food.  

“This is the best food I ever ate! Where did you get this?” she asked, her cheeks full.

“Careful, little one.  You don’t want to choke.”

Rey nodded and slowed her progress, eating with care as he explained he was staying with a friend on Hosnian Prime while his parents were away.  He sat back against the wall and talked about his home planet as she ate, averting his eyes so she wasn’t uncomfortable.  

When she finished eating, Rey handed the plate back to Ben and leaned against the wall, her hands resting on the small bump of her full belly.  She asked him to tell her stories and he smiled and shared more of his life, but she didn’t hear much.  Just a few minutes into a story about his best friend at school, her breathing grew slow and heavy and she slumped sideways, her head pressing against his arm.

Ben smiled down at Rey, slid his arm behind her, and brought the other under her legs to lift her up to her bed.  She was so small in his arms he almost cried.  How could anyone leave her?  “Sleep well, little one,” he said.  He grabbed a blanket from his own, temporary bed, layed it over her and brushed flyaway hairs off her forehead.  When he lowered his hand their connection had severed and he shook his head, disappointed he couldn’t do more, grateful for the help he was able to give, and curious about their connection.  He wasn’t sure if they would see each other again, but he knew he would always do what he could to help her.


End file.
